Some folks embrace the holiday spirit more quickly than others. Others, however, seem to be drawn straight to the "Scrooge" complex for no apparent reason. The joyous holiday season possesses a particularly strong connection to Cleveland, Ohio.
Every year, "A Christmas Story," a holiday favorite, is viewed by millions of people, some of whom watch it nonstop on Christmas. Cleveland served as the filming location for the renowned 1983 movie, which was set in Northwest Indiana. Cleveland is the location of the house where Ralphie Parker fought for the official Red Ryder carbine-action, 200-shot range model air rifle.
The home's current owner is Brian Jones. The Christmas Story House & Museum is now there. Since Jones purchased it in 2004, the property has been one of Cleveland's more well-known tourism destinations. Jones bought the house from a listing on eBay.
Currently, the house at 3159 West 11th Street is back on the market. And that’s where the Scrooge-like behavior of its new owner happened. Yano Anaya is the actor who played the character Grover Dill.
Dill was not one of the more endearing characters in the film. We’re wondering if that might explain Jones’ recent bizarre tirade. Apparently, Anaya is interested in purchasing the house. Evidently, the current owner isn’t very interested in selling it to him.
Maybe it’s because Anaya played the character of a bully. Nobody knows for sure. However, Jones made it clear, in no uncertain terms, that he didn’t want Anaya on or near the property as long as he owned it. Likewise, Jones doesn’t want him buying the house, either.
It seems like a rather strange request. But Jones left little to the imagination. When Anaya showed up, he accused the actor of being “a scammer, a loser, and a piece of s**t.” Evidently, Anaya has either started or is considering starting a GoFundMe to raise money.
That’s more the problem than Anaya’s desire to own the home. Jones told TMZ, “I apologize for the way I expressed myself; however, it was out of concern that fans could be misled into contributing to a GoFundMe campaign that will not result in the purchase of the house.”
So, we’re uncertain if Brian Jones is resisting selling the house to a group led by the fictional bully or if there’s another reason. It just seems rather bizarre, since Yano’s business partner, Emmanuel Soba, said Jones had agreed to sell Anaya the house.
While there is a GoFundMe set up to raise money to purchase the home, Soba says it’s never been activated. Maybe Jones has other reasons for his strange outbursts. Perhaps he strongly dislikes bullies. Or maybe he’s auditioning for his own part in a Christmas classic, Scrooge!